Starting seeds indoors is a great way to save money when growing a garden. Not only do you save money, but you learn valuable skills and have the satisfaction of growing from seed to fruit. New to seed starting? Let’s talk all things seed starting for beginners!
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When you are beginning your seed starting journey it can feel overwhelming with all the different methods out there. Before we start with any how-tos, you must understand that like most things, there are learning curves and trial and error when it comes to seed starting.
What works for one person, may not work for you or your location. So just keep this in mind before you get started. It’s all trial and error until you find a method that works for you.
Seed Starting
2023 is my 4th year starting seeds myself and honestly I can’t believe it!
It seems like it was just yesterday that I was starting seeds like carrots, green beans, and zucchini in egg cartons.
I had no idea that carrots, green beans, and zucchini were all seeds that liked to be direct sowed, planted directly into the ground, versus started indoors.
I also had no idea that the egg cartons would mold, the room was too cold, and the window I set them in front of did not give off enough sunlight.
To be honest, that first year was an utter failure! Fast forward to actually growing the garden and we planted it too close to our chickens who ended up eating the very little that did grow. It still makes me laugh.
Since going through all those trial and errors, I was able to share the last few years what worked for us and what didn’t. You can read How to Start Seeds for Beginners from a Beginner and After 3 Years Starting Seeds – Here’s What I’ve Learned.
Let’s go over the basics of seed starting!
Where and When to Purchase Seeds
Before purchasing seeds, I would recommend reading How to Start a Garden for Beginners. This gives some insight to growing a garden and will help you determine what and how much you can grow.
I also suggest requesting seeds catalogs. These are FREE catalogs sent to your door from seed companies. Here’s how you can get them.
Seed catalogs are a fun way to start the gardening season. It’s enjoyable to flip through the catalogs in the middle of winter and dream about your future garden.
Before purchasing seeds, I suggest making out a list of what you want to grow and then flipping through the catalogs to find the best deal on seeds.
You can also go to any Tractor Supply, Walmart, any local farm and feed store. I have even purchased seeds from the Dollar Store and they have produced. However, my favorite seeds are Baker Creek and MIGardener.
If you are shopping online for seeds, especially rare seeds, I recommend purchasing them as soon as possible. January is a great time to purchase your seeds, as the more people get into gardening, the seeds always seem to go super fast.
What You Need to Start Seeds
When starting seeds indoors there are a few things that you will need. However, if you have a warm sunny window you may not need everything recommended here.
Soil
First and foremost you will need quality seed starting soil to start your seeds in. Seed starting soil has added nutrients to help your seeds germinate and grow.
We get ours from our local feed mill but you can purchase yours from Walmart, Tractor Supply, the hardware store, or even the Dollar Store has some good mix at times.
Seed Starting Trays
To start your seeds you will need some sort of container. I have use trays with cells, red solo cups, small pots, egg cartons, and this year I am trying the Jiffy Greenhouse Seed Starting Kit which uses peat pellets.
There are also method call soil blocking. With this process you use a Soil Blocking Tool and create small blocks of soil to plant your seeds in. With this you can easily place the soil in a tray, tote, tin foil tray, etc. It’s an easy way to start a lot of seeds without needing too much space to start off. Eventually you will need to break the blocks up and up pot them but that will come later.
I have used these seed starting trays the last few years and I really like them. They are easy to use, come with trays and lids to act as greenhouses until the seeds sprout. And you can wash and reuse in future years.
Heating Mats
Heating mats are such a great tool to use when starting seeds indoors. Seeds like warm soil to germinate and these heating mats do just the trick!
To use a heating mat, you simply place it under your seed starting trays and plug it in. That’s it. Super simple.
Heating mats will help warm the soil up about 10-20 degrees, warm enough for the seed to germinate. Once the seeds have germinated and are growing, you can go ahead and remove the heating mats.
Just like the seed starting trays, the heating mats can be used year after year after year.
Grow Lights
Last but not least, a must have when starting seeds are grow lights. As mentioned previously, if you have a bright sunny window, grow lights may not be needed. Natural direct sunlight will do the trick just fine.
Depending on your set up, there are a few different kinds of grow lights. I have used a clip on grow light the last 4 years and it works great! This clip on is great for small spaces, if you don’t have more than about 4 trays, and is also fantastic for beginners.
This year I stepped it up and got a grow light stand. It is the same set up but is tripod that has varies levels versus the clip.
If you are planning to use shelves for your seeds, these lights would be perfect for shelving. This is what I plan to use next year as we build shelving for my “grow room”.
When you position your grow lights, place them only a couple inches above the plants. You don’t want them so close they essentially burn the plant, but you don’t want them too far as the plant will stretch trying to reach the light and you will have leggy plants.
Leggy plants tend to make for weak plants when you transplant them outdoors.
When to Start Seeds
Now that you have everything you need to start seeds, when do you start them?
First head over to this website to find your grow zone. This will tell you what your hardiness zone is to help you determine what plants will grow well in your area. You can also find out your last frost date.
Once you find your last frost date you can turn to the back of your seed packet to determine when you start your seeds. Most seeds will need to be started 8-10 weeks before your last frost date. Others may only be 4-6 weeks before.
Easy Seeds to Start
If you are unsure what to start, I suggest starting with peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, flowers, herbs, lettuces, even zucchini, squash, and watermelon are good to start indoors if you want and transplant outdoors.
Starting seeds can feel tricky and overwhelming. Start them anyway. I highly recommend failing forward when it comes to gardening. Gardening is trial and error and a lot of learning as you go.
I encourage you to start your seeds and have fun with it!
I’m rooting for you!
